Even Death on a Cross

A monument of the bronze serpent (which Moses erected in the Neghev desert) on Mount Nebo, in front of the church of Saint Moses (2018).

 

Even Death on a Cross

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Piety

The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the
Lord and you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So, Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” So, Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live. (Numbers 21:6-9)

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:13-16)

Study

The cross is the ultimate dichotomy of Christianity.  This instrument of execution for the Romans became the path to eternal life for all followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Such a contradiction survives to this day with Christians from all branches of the Church – Roman or Eastern, Greek or Russian or Coptic, Protestant or Catholic, Lutheran or Methodist, Presbyterian or Anglican, Baptist, or Quaker – wear silver or gold crosses of jewels.  We have bumper stickers on our cars, and rosary beads hanging from our rear-view mirrors, all proudly showing off our crosses.

If Moses returned to appear our society (as he appeared in the Transfiguration), would he melt our “golden calf” (golden cross) that we have erected as a cultural contradiction of Christ?

We exalt lots of opposites.  Take the Magnificat. The song does not heap praise on the few, the proud, and the rich.  Instead, Mary prepares to usher Baby Jesu into the world, singing about how God exalts the lowly, the hungry, and the poor.

He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He has put down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.

Action

Moses and Nicodemus John put our little tripod to use in partnership with the cross. The steps to Calvary in the tripod are:

1)   Come to Jesus. (Piety)

2)   Listen to Jesus. (Study)

3)   Do what Jesus says. (Action)

What happens in the story from Numbers? After all their complaining, the people had to take the first step along the way, a beginning.  They came to Moses and asked him to pray for them to the Lord. Moses turned to the Lord in prayer.  Second, God gave Moses explicit instructions about what to do, and he listened. Third, Moses put the Lord’s plan into action by mounting the seraph for the people to see. Piety.  Study.  Action.

Nicodemus did the same, although not in one scene.  He took the first step in today’s Gospel. That step allowed the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.  First, Nicodemus came to the Lord under cover of darkness.  Second, he listened to the Lord.  Nicodemus became the first student of the most crucial lesson in the Bible.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”  (John 3:16-17) Third, he acted upon what he learned by defending Jesus in the temple and then by joining Joseph of Arimathea at the foot of the cross to take Jesus’ mortal remains and provide a proper burial.  Piety.  Study.  Action.

In some ways, choosing to be a Christian is as counter-intuitive for a capitalist as the Magnificat. Why would we want to join a group where the short-term payoff is pain and suffering? Does that not fly in the face of the “prosperity” Gospel?  After all, Jesus does not say to pick up your Mercedes-Benz or your Omaha Steaks or your shares of Apple stock and follow me.

The cross is the toll plaza on the path of life from Golgotha to Calvary.  What price are you willing to pay to travel on that path and arrive with the Lord?  Jesus paid with the pain he experiences through his body for us. How might His cross help you endure and exalt in the path toward being with Him and in Him?